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Learn to cook Thai style 
Learn to cook Thai style
On a bank of the tiny Sanam Chai canal
that cuts into the Chao Phraya River, in Bangkok, a Thai family house
has been converted into the Amita Thai Cooking School.
It is an
example of how families are getting involved in tourism offering a
genuine experience. In this case, the focus is on teaching visitors how
to cook genuine Thai food dishes.
No.5_inside_1Like any fledging
enterprise, the challenge is to gain the attention of tour operators to
include it as a lifestyle activity alongside standard tour options.
To
maintain a traditional atmosphere, the kitchen is a wooden structure,
open air, and decorated with antiques from the family’s collection.
There
are 10 individual cooking stations equipped with utensils for each
student to cook their own dishes. The course lasts three hours and gives
tuition on preparing four dishes that are served for lunch, at the
close of the class.
During a typical week, the school rotates
three menu sets that feature a mix of savoury and sweet dishes.
1.
Satay, chicken green curry, coconut rice with spicy papaya salad and
banana in coconut milk.
2. Thai stir-fried noodles, chicken in
galangal and coconut milk soup, stirred fried chicken with cashew nuts
and pink water chestnut dumpling in syrup and coconut milk.
3.
Deep fried chicken wrapped in pandanus leaves, prawn hot and sour soup,
stir fried pork with holy basil and coconut pancakes.
No.5
Inside_2Students transfer from their hotels to the Maharaj Pier near the
Grand Palace where they board a private boat to the school. Transfer
included in the tuition fee.
Before going to the kitchen,
instructors explain the herbal garden identifying plants and leaves that
are used in cooking.
Hands-on tuition starts with an instructor
demonstrating cooking techniques and showing them the ingredient
measures required for each dish. Then it’s the students’ turn to cook
with the instructors guiding them through the process step-by-step.
If
a curry is on the menu, students will have to pound ingredients into a
paste, although all the ingredients used for cooking were pre-prepared,
earlier in the morning to speed up the tuition.
No.5_Inside_3One
interesting technique shows students how to make coconut milk from
scratch using a traditional Thai coconut grater, while another shows
them how to make flour from rice grains using a stone mill. The rice
flour is then used to make Kha Nom Krok or rice pancakes.Source: http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2009/08/learn-to-cook-thai-style/#mor...
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